Drapery support apparatus for rufflette and shirred draperies

ABSTRACT

A drapery support assembly for use with apparatus for pleating, folding and stretching draperies of the shirred and rufflette types. A variable range of predetermined fixed distances is provided by securing one point at the upper portion of a shirred or rufflette drapery at a forward location on the assembly and then directing the upper most portion of the drapery back to a fixed predetermined rearward location on the assembly where it is folded and returned back to the forward location where it is then pinned at a point adjacent to said first point.

United States Patent Kirche [541 DRAPERY SUPPORT APPARATUS FOR RUFFLETTEAND SHIRRED DRAPERIES 72 Inventor: Robert M. Kirche, 41 l Arbor Vitae,

lnglewood, Calif. 9030l [22] Filed: Jan. 12, 1972 {21] Appl. No.:2l7,l47

I 52| U.S. Cl. ..223/34 [51 l Int. Cl. ..A4lh 43/00, DOSb 35/08, D06j1/00 {58] Field of Search ..223/28-34, 37,

[5 6] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Getchell et al. ..223/32Soto ..233/28 [4 1 Oct. 3, 1972 3,613,968 10/1971 Kirche ..233/323,613,967 lO/l97l Clement ..223/32 Primary Examiner-Jordan FranklinAssistant Examiner-G. V. Larkin Attorney-Gerald L. Price 5 7 ABSTRACT Adrapery support assembly for use with apparatus for pleating, foldingand stretching draperies of the shirred and rufflette types. A variablerange of predetermined fixed distances is provided by securing one pointat the upper portion of a shirred or rufflette drapery at a forwardlocation on the assembly and then directing the upper most portion ofthe drapery back to a fixed predetermined rearward location on theassembly where it is folded and returned back to the forward locationwhere it is then pinned at a point adjacent to said first point. i

9 Claims, 12 Drawing Figures PATENTEnnms I972 3 6 I SHEETZUFZ 95'489DRAPERY SUPPORT APPARATUS FOR RUFFLETTE AND SI-IIRRED DRAPERIESBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally toan assembly for supporting draperies of the shirred or rufflette type onan apparatus for pleating, stretching and folding draperies used bycommercial drapery Cleaning establishments such as that depicted in myUs. Pat. No. 3, 613,968.

While said patent discloses a drapery pleating, folding and stretchingapparatus having a drapery support assembly 24 for elevating draperiesto a desired height, supporting same at said desired height, andenabling the draperies to be stretched to a a desired length by apulling force at a lower portion of the draperies, this drapery supportassembly and all others on machines intended for the same generalpurpose, are designed to support draperies of the type having aplurality of pleats, each of a predetermined dimension, whereby thedrapery can be supported at its uppermost portion at each adjacent folddefining a pleat.

In addition to draperies having integral pleats at the upper portion ofpredetermined dimensions, there are also draperies of the shirred orrufflette type which are quite common in a number of European countriesand these types of draperies are not provided with a built in orintegral plurality of pleats of a predetermined dimension. Accordingly,draperies of the shirred or rufflette type cannot be readily andefficiently supported by the drapery support assembly 24 of my apparatusset forth in my aforestated patent.

Accordingly, it is the general aim of the present invention to provide anew and improved drapery support assembly for use with drapery pleating,stretching and folding apparatus such as that set forth in myaforestated patent, which will enable draperies of the shirred andrufflette types to be readily and efficiently attached and supported ina pleated configuration with pleats of a predetermined dimension.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved draperysupport assembly of the aforestated type which will enable the operatorof the apparatus to remove shirred or rufflette draperies in a quick andsimple manner. I

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from thefollowing description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of adrapery support assembly embodying the features of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the drapery support as sembly shown inFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top plan diagrammatic view depicting a shirred or rufflettedrapery supported by the drapery support assembly shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of the end tab for supportingthe forward portion of the drapery support assembly shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a side elevation illustrating a drapery support assemblysimilar to that shown in FIG. 1 but with a modified support andadjustment arrangement for the front drapery support assembly;

the pleat adjustment and drapery removal portion of the drapery supportassembly shown in FIG. 7; and 1 FIG. 12 is a fragmentary perspectiveview of still another drapery support assembly embodying the features ofthe present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS While particular embodiments ofthe present invention are shown in the drawings and will herein bedescribed in detail, it is apparent that changes and modifications maybe made without departing from the invention in its broader aspects, andtherefore, the aim in the appended claims is to cover such changes andmodifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

In accordance with one of the one of the important aspects of thepresent invention, provision is made for supporting shirred or rufflettedraperies which dd not embody a preformed pleat, in a pleatedarrangement wherein the pleats are of any one of a number ofpredetermined dimensions. Referring first to FIG. 1, this isaccomplished in a drapery support assembly generally indicated at 11which includes two separate expandable scissor linkages generallyindicated at 13 and 15, each of the type shown and described in myaforestated US. Pat. No. 3,613,968 with provision whereby one of saidscissor linkages can be selectively positioned at a predetermineddistance from the other so that a shirred or rufflette drapery can besupported in a pleated configuration as depicted diagrammatically inFIG. 3.

The embodiment depicted in FIG. 1, includes a crossbar 12 carrying therearward expandable scissor linkage 13 which is intended to beselectively raised and lowered according to the teachings of myaforestated patent, a second crossbar 14 carrying the forward expandablescissor linkage 15 and a pair of support arms 17 affixed at each end ofcrossbar 12 and extending horizontally outwardly therefrom forsupporting crossbar l4 and its associated expandable scissor linkage 15at any one of a plurality of predetermined distances from crossbar 12with these predetermined distances corresponding to the various pleatwidths that a shirred or rufflette drapery 25 can be supported in on theinstant assembly.

In order to position crossbar 14 at any one of the aforestatedpredetermined fixed distances from crossbar 12, an elongated slot 26 isprovided in each support 17 with each of the slots provided with aplurality of depressions 27 on the lower edge thereof with eachdepression corresponding to one of the predetermined distances that thebar 14 can be fixedly maintained from the crossbar 12.

g in a predetermined position.

To maintain the crossbar 14 in a predetermined position on the support17, each tab 28 is provided with a turneddown edge 29 which is adaptedto engage the depressions 27 in slot 26. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 2the crossbar 14 can be lifted slightly and located by virtue of theengagement of the turned down edge 29 with the depression 27 at any oneof the positions corresponding to said depressions. Two such positionsare depicted in FIG. 2 with one being in solid lines, and the otherbeing in broken lines.

In order to attach the rufflette or shirred drapery 25 to the draperysupport assembly 11 each expandable scissor linkage 13 and 15 isprovided with a plurality of respective arms 22 and 19 with the arms 22on the rearward'scissors linkage 13 each having an upwardly andrearwardly directed pin 23 extending therefrom and each arm 19 on theforward expandable linkage l having a pin 21 extending upwardly andforwardly therefrom. Accordingly, once the crossbar 14 has been locatedat a selected predetermined distance from the crossbar 12 to define thepleat width that the shirred or rufflette drapery 25 will be maintainedin when supported, the drapery is then alternately fastened betweensuccessive arms 22 and 19 on the two expandable linkages l3 and asdiagrammatically depicted in FIG. 3.

In order to remove the drapery 25 from the instant support assembly onceit has been stretched, folded and the like, the operator merely has torelocate crossbar 14 to a position closer to the crossbar 12 therebyproviding enough slack in the pleats of the drapery 25 so that thepleats can be lifted off the pins 21 and 23. Alternatively, by providingproper clearance between the turned down edge 29 of the tabs 28 and thedepressions 27, the entire crossbar 14 and associated expandable scissorlinkage 15 can be rotated in a clockwise direction about the point ofengagement between edge 28 and depression 27 thereby also providingsufficient slack in the pleats of the drapery 25 to enable the removalof same from the pins 23 and 21.

Turning next to FIG. 5, a modified arrangement for supporting crossbar14 and positioning same at a plurality of predetermined fixed distancesfrom crossbar 12 is shown. In this arrangement, crossbar 12 is providedwith a support block 24 at each end thereof with an upwardly directedaperture therein which is adapted to receive support arm 17a which inturn is affixed to each end of crossbar 14a and extends horizontally andrearwardly therefrom. The crossbar 17a is further provided with aplurality of spaced notches 33 at its lower edge with each of sameadapted to engage the uppermost edge of the bottom of the aperture ineach block 24. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 5, when the uppermost edgeof the lower portion of the aperture in the block 24 engages one of thenotches 33 of the support arm 17a, the arm will be fixedly maintained ina horizontal position by virtue of said engagement and the engagement ofthe lowermost edge of the upper portion of the same aperture with theupper edge of the support arm 17a.

It will be readily apparent that this arrangement will enable thecrossbar 14a to be rotated slightly counterclockwise as shown by thebroken arrows and then advanced downwardly so that the support arms 17areloca'te within the aperture and blocks 24 to provide the desired slackin the draperies 25 for the removal of same from pins 21 and 23.

Turning next to FIG. 6, still another modified arrangement forsupporting and positioning the forward crossbar identified in thisembodiment as 14b at any one of the plurality of positions from crossbar12 which as hereinbefore stated corresponds to the various desiredwidths of pleats that drapery 25 can be supported in. This embodiment isessentially similar to that depicted in FIG. 1, but utilizes a supportarm extending rearwardly and horizontally from crossbar 14b whichcarries a threaded stud 34 which is of a diameter which permits it to beseated in each depression 27 in the slot 26 and a stop nut 32 on the endof the stud which is received on the stud in a manner whereby thecrossbar 14b can be readily relocated without tightening or looseningnut 32 at any of the positions where the stud 34 engages the depressions26. In order to maintain the support arm 33 and in turn the crossbar 14bin a horizontal position at any of the desired distances from thecrossbar 12, each support arm 33 is provided with a latch 30 having aspring loaded latching pin 31 which normally extends through the slot 26thereby maintaining the support arm 33 and the crossbar 14b in ahorizontal position, but can be withdrawn therefrom which as shown inbroken lines in FIG. 6 will enable the crossbar 14b to be pivoted aboutthe stud 34 in any of the depressions 27 in a clockwise directionthereby enabling the drapery 25 to be readily removed from the pins 21and 23.

It should be. pointed out that in all the preceding embodiments, thearms 22 on the rearward scissor linkage 13 can also be provided with anadditional pin 23a shown in FIG. 2 in broken lines, thereby enabling thedrapery support assembly 11 to be utilized with conventional pleateddraperies in the manner disclosed in my aforestated patent.

Turning next to FIG. 7, another embodiment of a drapery support assemblyis shown which in keeping with the important aspects of the instantinvention, provides support for both pleated draperies in the mannerdisclosed in my aforestated patent and additionally provides support ina pleated configuration for nonpleated rufflette or shirred draperies. Afurther advantage of this embodiment is that the arms 22 and theirassociated pins 23a of the scissor linkage 13 are disposed forward ofthe arms and pins for supporting the opposite folds of the shirred orrufflette type draperies thereby not presenting an obstruction or safetyhazard to an operator using the assembly for prepleated draperies suchas the pinch pleat type and further does not require the removal ordisassembly of the scissor linkage provided for the shirred or rufflettedrapery in order to use the assembly for prepleated draperies.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 7 includes a pair of support and adjustmentplates 34 which are provided at each end of crossbar 12 and extendrearwardly and horizontally therefrom. Each plate 34 is slideablycarried on crossbar 12 as a result of the engagement of a pair of pins35 carried on the crossbar 12 which extend through an elongated slot 36in the support and adjustment plate 34 which as shown permits plate 34to be slideably adjusted within a range dictated by the length of theslot 36. A wing nut 37 is provided on one of the pins 35 which isthreaded to receive same so as to be able to fixedly maintain each plate34 at a desired position within a range provided by the length of theslot 36. As shown, indicia 38 can be provided on the plate to indexpredetermined positions to fixedly secure the plate 34. At the rearwardportion of each plate 34, an elongated rod 40 corresponding to thelength of crossbar 12 is rotatably journaled between each support andadjustment plate 34 by a pin 42 coaxial with rod 40 and extendingtherefrom, which passes through an aperture 43 in plate 34. At one endof rod'40, a handle 45 is attached to pin 42 after it passes through theaperture 43 to permit the rod 40 to be rotated.

In order to attach the rearward folds of the ruffiette or shirreddrapery, a plurality of arms 46 are carried on the rod 40 with pins 47extending upwardly and rearwardly therefrom. As in the case of thepreviously discussed embodiments, the number of arms 46 corresponds tothe arms 22 in the expandable scissor linkage 13 carried by crossbar 12so that a shirred or rufflette drapery can be supported in a pleatedconfiguration as depicted in FIGS. 8 and 9. While the arms 46 are shownfor convenience in this discussion as being separately affixed to therod 40, it is pointed out that the rod 40 could also be provided with ascissor linkage such as that of 13 thereby enabling the entire draperyto be folded for hanging and packaging as disclosed in my aforestatedpatent.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, by sliding the support plates 34 along thelimits of travel provided by slot 36 therein, the spacing between thearms 46 on rod 40 and arms 22 on crossbar 12 can be selectivelymaintained to providea desired dimension of each pleat. In FIG. 8 asetting providing a pleat of a 2 inch width is diagrammatically depictedwhile in FIG. 9 a 4 inch width pleat setting is illustrated. It isunderstood of course that any intermediate position between the extremeends of the slot36 could be set on the instant assembly.

In order to remove the drapery 25 from the apparatus shown in FIG. 7after it has been stretched, folded and the like, provision is made forrotating the rod 40 to a position wherein the arms 46 are moved upwardlythereby placing each pleat in a slackened condition and permitting theremoval of the drapery from between the pins 47 and 23a. This isaccomplished by providing a plurality of detents 50 about thecircumference of the rod 40 adjacent to one of the support plates 34 anda latching member 51 carried by the plate 34 with a pin 52 thereon whichis adapted to be selectively positioned into and out of said detents 50.

Accordingly, as shown in FIGS. and 11, the drapery can be removed fromits pleated configuration between the respective arms 47 and 23a bywithdrawing pin 52 from the detent maintaining the rod 40 in its thenfixed position, and rotating the rod counterclockwise until the pleatsare sufficiently slackened to permit the removal of the drapery 25 asshown in solid lines in FIG. 11.

In addition to utilizing the positioning of the pin 52 of the latch 51with the detents 50 for the removal of the drapery 25, it will also bereadily apparent that the rod 40 can be rotated to a plurality ofpositions such as those shown in FIG. 10 in dotted lines which willprovide different spacings between the pins 47 and 23a therebyeffectively permitting a plurality of pleat width adjustments at eachfixed setting of the support and adjustment plate 34. For example, ifthe rod 40 is rotated clockwise so that pin 52 of the latch 51 engagesthe next detent 50 on the rod, an additional dimension such as 1 inchcould be set as the pleat width of the shirred or rufflette drapery tobe supported with the rod 40 maintained in this position. In the sametype of procedure, the rod 40 could also be rotated upon the removal ofpin 52 from its then located detent 50, in a counterclockwise positionwhich like the aforestated clockwise position is also shown in brokenlines in FIG. 10 which would have the effect of providing a shirred orrufflette drapery in a pleated configuration of a smaller width. 7

Accordingly, it will be readily understood by one skilled in the artthat within each setting of the support plates 34 along the slot 36,aplurality of settings by rotating the rod 40 are available to provide adesired pleat width for a shirred or rufflette drapery. F urthermore, byutilizing both the linear and rotational adjustments hereinbeforedescribed, a large range of adjustments will be provided although ineach linear position there will be certain settings that will beavailable in another linear position if a rotational adjustment in theother linear position is made.

Turning next to FIG. 12, still another modification is shown whichembodies the features of the instant invention. In this embodiment anelongated bar 54 corresponding to the length of the crossbar 12 issupported rearwardly of the expandable scissor linkage 13 of crossbar 12so as to provide a backstop to serve as a gauge when attaching anon-pleated drapery of the shirred or rufflette types to the pins 23a ofthis embodiment. As shown, there is no attachment of the rear folds ofthe drapery 25 in this embodiment, however satisfactory results areobtained since the bar 54 insures that each pleat of the drapery 25 willbe the same dimension. In order to support the bar 54 and to provide aplurality of fixed predetermined positions for the bar to be positionedat, a pair of support arms 55 are fastened at the ends of crossbar 12and are directed rearwardly and horizontally therefrom. Each support armhas a plurality of equally spaced slots 56 to receive a pair of pins 57which extend longitudinally outwardly from each end of the bar 54 andrest in adjacent slots 56. In order to provide adjustment, the bar 54can be readily lifted and reinserted or successively rotated by virtueof the engagement of pins 57 with the slots 56 to a desired position. Aswith the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, this embodiment also readilyaccepts draperies of both the pleated and non-pleated type without thenecessity of removing any structure or presenting an obstruction orsafety hazard to the operator.

What is claimed is:

1. A drapery support assembly for supporting a drapery at its upperportion in a pleated configuration comprising:

a first plurality of spaced attachment means carried on the assembly inan elongated, generally horizontally aligned arrangement, with eachsuccessive one of said attachment means adapted to securely engage asuccessive one of a plurality of aligned adjacent folds in the upperportion of a drapery to be supported by the assembly, the plurality ofaligned adjacent folds defining a portion of a pleated configuration;and l pleat width reference means comprising an elongated member adaptedto be fixedly disposed generally parallel to said first plurality ofattachment means and spaced therefrom in a generally horizontalalignment therewith and at a predetermined distance generallycorresponding to the desired pleat width of the draperies to besupported by the assembly whereby upon each successive engagement of oneof said attachment means with a fold in the upper portion of the draperyto be supported, the upper portion of the drapery can then be tautlypositioned between said one of said attachment means and the pleat widthreference means, return folded at said pleat width reference means andthen tautly positioned between said pleat width reference means and thenext successive one of said attachment means and engaged therewith,thereby having the upper portion of the drapery between said successiveattachment means maintained in a pleated configuration. 2. The draperysupport assembly as set forth in claim 1 further including means forselectively positioning and maintaining said pleat width reference meansat any one of a plurality of predetermined distances from said firstplurality of attachment means for supporting a drapery in a pleatedconfiguration of desired pleat width.

3. The drapery support assembly as set forth in claim 2 wherein thespacing between each attachment means in said first plurality ofattachment means is selectively expandable and retractable, therebypermitting the supported drapery to be folded in a pleated configurationprior to being removed from the assembly.

4. The drapery support assembly as set forth in claim 1 furthercomprising a second plurality of attachment means carried on said pleatwidth reference means whereby each successive return fold at the upperportion of the drapery to be supported can be engaged bya successive oneof said second plurality of attachment means thereby maintaining eachfold in the pleated configuration of a drapery supported by the assemblyin engagement with the assembly.

5. The drapery support assembly as set forth in claim 4 furtherincluding means for selectively positioning and maintaining said pleatwidth reference means at any one of a plurality of predetermineddistances from said first plurality of attachment means for supporting adrapery in a pleated configuration of desired pleat width and forremoving the drapery from the assembly in its pleated configuration.

6. The drapery support assembly as set forth in claim 5 wherein thespacing between each attachment means in said first and secondpluralities of attachment means is selectively expandable andretractable thereby permitting the supported drapery to be folded in apleated configuration prior to being removed from the assembly.

7. The drapery support assembly set forth in claim 5 wherein said secondplurality of attachment means are carried on said elongated member andsaid selective positioning and maintainin of said pleat width referencemeans 18 accomplis ed by rotating said elongated member into engagementwith one of a plurality of positioning and stop means provided on theassembly.

8. The drapery support assembly set forth in claim 5 wherein saidselective positioning and maintaining of said pleat width referencemeans is accomplished by linearly moving said elongated member in agenerally horizontal direction into engagement with one of a pluralityof positioning and locking means provided on the assembly.

. 9. The drapery support assembly set forth in claim 8 whereby the pleatwidth reference means may be selectively rotated about a fixedpredetermined diameter to which it is affixed to the assembly, therebybringing the said second plurality of attachment means closer to thesaid first plurality of attachment means to facilitate the removal of asupported drapery from the assembly in its pleated configuration.

1. A drapery support assembly for supporting a drapery at its upperportion in a pleated configuration comprising: a first plurality ofspaced attachment means carried on the assembly in an elongated,generally horizontally aligned arrangement, with each successive one ofsaid attachment means adapted to securely engage a successive one of aplurality of aligned adjacent folds in the upper portion of a drapery tobe supported by the assembly, the plurality of aligned adjacent foldsdefining a portion of a pleated configuration; and pleat width referencemeans comprising an elongated member adapted to be fixedly disposedgenerally parallel to said first plurality of attachment means andspaced therefrom in a generally horizontal alignment therewith and at apredetermined distance generally corresponding to the desired pleatwidth of the draperies to be supported by the assembly whereby upon eachsuccessive engagement of one of said attachment means with a fold in theupper portion of the drapery to be supported, the upper portion of thedrapery can then be tautly positioned between said one of saidattachment means and the pleat width reference means, return folded atsaid pleat width reference means and then tautly positioned between saidpleat width reference means and the next successive one of saidattachment means and engaged therewith, thereby having the upper portionof the drapery between said successive attachment means maintained in apleated configuration.
 2. The drapery support assembly as set forth inclaim 1 further including means for selectively positioning andmaintaining said pleat width reference means at any one of a pluralityof predetermined distances from said first plurality of attachment meansfor supporting a drapery in a pleated configuration of desired pleatwidth.
 3. The drapery support assembly as set forth in claim 2 whereinthe spacing between each attachment means in said first plurality ofattachment means is selectively expandable and retractable, therebypermitting the supported drapery to be folded in a pleated configurationprior to being removed from the assembly.
 4. The drapery supportassembly as set forth in claim 1 further comprising a second pluralityof attachment means carried on said pleat width reference means wherebyeach successive return fold at the upper portion of the drapery to besupported can be engaged by a successive one of said second plurality ofattachment means thereby maintaining each fold in the pleatedconfiguration of a drapery supported by the assembly in engagement withthe assembly.
 5. The drapery support assembly as set forth in claim 4further including means for selectively positioning and maintaining saidpleat width reference means at any one of a plurality of predetermineddistances from said first plurality of attachment means for supporting adrapery in a pleated configuration of desired pleat width and forremoving the drapery from the assembly in its pleated configuration. 6.The drapery support assembly as set forth in claim 5 wherein the spacingbetween each attachment means in said first and second pluralities ofattachment means is selectively expandable and retractable therebypermitting the supported drapery to be folded in a pleated configurationprior to being removed from the assembly.
 7. The drapery supportasseMbly set forth in claim 5 wherein said second plurality ofattachment means are carried on said elongated member and said selectivepositioning and maintaining of said pleat width reference means isaccomplished by rotating said elongated member into engagement with oneof a plurality of positioning and stop means provided on the assembly.8. The drapery support assembly set forth in claim 5 wherein saidselective positioning and maintaining of said pleat width referencemeans is accomplished by linearly moving said elongated member in agenerally horizontal direction into engagement with one of a pluralityof positioning and locking means provided on the assembly.
 9. Thedrapery support assembly set forth in claim 8 whereby the pleat widthreference means may be selectively rotated about a fixed predetermineddiameter to which it is affixed to the assembly, thereby bringing thesaid second plurality of attachment means closer to the said firstplurality of attachment means to facilitate the removal of a supporteddrapery from the assembly in its pleated configuration.